


Clouds in My Coffee

by Lori94



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Coffee, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Muggle London, Not Epilogue Compliant, Post-Second War with Voldemort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26721625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lori94/pseuds/Lori94
Summary: Based on a picture prompt found on FacebookAfter the war, Harry went to university and made friends with a muggle girl. One of his magical friends owns a coffee shop nearby and has hired a familiar face. His muggle friend takes it upon herself to slip a note to the cute new barista in an attempt to make a match...
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 5
Kudos: 78





	1. Clouds in My Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> Posted September 29th in honor of National Coffee day!
> 
> Hello to all my coffee lovers out there!

Having just left the university library after being there for almost eight hours, Harry was completely drained of energy. He agreed enthusiastically with his friend when she tugged on his arm to pull him into the usual coffee shop.

"I need some yummy caffeine and a serious break from studying, Harry!" Michelle whined as they joined the queue. 

"Serious caffeine and yummy break." Harry murmured trying to stay awake. "Me too..." 

A few minutes later, Michelle groaned and leaned her head against Harry's shoulder. "What's taking so long?"

"I'll go see." Harry said with a sigh and made his way up close to the register. When he got there, the sight he beheld woke him like a slap to the face. He'd recognize that blond hair and seeker's built body anywhere. He allowed himself to look the other man over since he didn't appear to have noticed Harry. 

He looked well...for having survived a war, not to mention his houseguests during said war and the house arrest that had been his sentence...he looked awfully fit also. Seeing that Malfoy was finishing his task, Harry whirled around and grabbed Michelle's hand as he rushed back to her side. 

"New barista. Let's not wait." Harry told her quietly, tugging lightly on her arm. 

"Boy or girl?" She asked, suddenly awake enough to function. "What do they look like? Your type or mine?"

He silently cursed as he remembered that his friend hadn't had a date in months. "Pale blond hair - almost silver - and slim build - not overly muscular. My age. Come on, Michelle; let's go."

"No, I want to see him." She pouted and arched her neck to see around the people in front of them. "Maybe I'll flirt with him; find out which way he swings."

"You can stay if you want but I'm going. I want to sleep more than drink coffee, anyway." Harry didn't want to acknowledge the strange feeling in his gut upon hearing her desire to flirt with Draco. 

She giggled as she looked intently at Harry's face. "You don't want me to flirt with him, do you?"

"I truly don't care, Michelle. Go on and flaunt your boobs at him for all I care!" Harry hissed, suddenly upset as he rushed out the door. 

Michelle stared after him until someone tapped her on the shoulder. 

"Can I help you, miss?" 

When she turned around, she let her eyes feast on the handsome blond man who must be the new barista at her favorite coffee shop. Harry had been right. That pale blond was strikingly close to silver and she could see slightly toned muscles on his arms, though he was wearing a t-shirt. 

"Sorry... Draco." She smiled widely at him as she checked his nametag. "I didn't notice the queue had gone."

"Quite alright." Draco smirked and led the way back to the counter. "What can I get you?"

She gave her usual order and then Harry's, figuring she really ought to smooth things over with the brother she never had. As she waited for the drinks she caught a glimpse of the way his trousers hugged his bum and a crazy idea tickled her fancy. She ripped a corner from the last page of her notebook and scribbled a short message before putting it between the cash money. Then she paid and left quickly.

By the time Draco noticed the paper, the girl was gone. He read the note - which simply consisted of two sentences and two phone numbers - several times over his shift before showing it to the owner of the shop. "What do you think I should do?"

Dean looked from the paper to Draco's face and bit his tongue. "Well, do you have a preference?"

"You know that's not what I mean." Draco sighed with a weak glare at the other man. "I don't know if I should date a muggle. I'd hate to get attached and then have to break it off because of the statute. Let's not forget that I'm still on probation."

"Well, what if you just meet them. Have coffee or something...Drinks?" Dean knew one of those numbers and thought it was interesting that a muggle girl was acting as wingman to help Harry Potter land a date with Draco Malfoy. "Maybe it'll make the decision easier."

The blond let out a frustrated huff. "She could've at least given me names."

"So call her and ask his name." Dean shrugged and threw his hands up in surrender at the glare suddenly being aimed his way. "Or the other way around... whatever floats your boat, mate."

Draco sighed heavily. He'd never been one to advertise his sexuality but he also didn't plan to hide it. "Fine. I'm bisexual... but I lean more towards men."

"Look, Draco..." Dean hesitated but then soldiered on. "I've seen that girl in here before and, if the friend is the guy I'm thinking of, he might be your type."

"Oh sure. It's randomly going to be a male half blood wizard with dark hair, green eyes and a propensity for muggle life... not to mention a preference for giving rather than receiving." Draco scoffed but slipped the paper into his pocket. 

Dean bit his lip hard to suppress his shock and amusement. "All I'm saying is to give it a shot. You might be pleasantly surprised. It'll give you something to do on your off day tomorrow."

They locked up for the night and Dean checked his messages as soon as he arrived home. As he'd expected, there was one from Harry asking for a call back. Dean smirked and did one better. He grabbed a bottle of fire whiskey and apparated over to his friend's flat. He knocked once and wasn't surprised that Harry was expecting him.

"Why didn't you tell me Draco Malfoy was working at your place?" Harry demanded. 

"Hi, Harry." Dean joked as he sat down. "How have you been? Haven't seen you in a while."

Harry sighed and glared at him. 

Dean shook his head in amusement while lifting the bottle in his hand. "Got glasses?"

Harry huffed but went to his cupboard and took two tumblers from the shelf. Setting them down, Harry visibly calmed himself before greeting his old friend. "Hello, Dean. Nice to see you. What's new? Hired any former..."

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Harry." Dean cut Harry off with a snarl. "You wouldn't have testified for him at his trial if you didn't believe that but, now that he's getting that second chance, we can't keep throwing it in his face!"

"'Classmates'." Harry said softly with wide eyes. "I was going to say 'classmates'."

"Oh... sorry." Dean's attitude deflated so he took the awkward pause and filled their glasses. "Reflex. I've had to defend my decision to hire him several times." 

"Why aren't you surprised that I know Malfoy is working there?" Harry wanted to know. 

"Michelle was in this morning." Dean hedged, shrugging it off. 

Harry stared into his whiskey and admitted weakly. "I was there too."

Dean took a sharp breath. "Wow."

"The queue was going a bit slow. Michelle was whining and you know how she can get when deprived of caffeine." Harry lightly scrubbed his face. "I went to see what was happening and when I saw him... well, I left before he saw me. I didn't want him to think I was stalking him or playing games."

Dean nodded in understanding. He still remembered the stories. The question, now, was whether or not to tell Harry what Michelle had done. The decision was snatched from his hands when the door slammed open. 

Michelle came rushing in and threw herself at Harry without warning. 

Knowing Harry still had a thing about saving people, Dean stood up yielding the floor to the damsel in obvious distress. "Good thing we're out of whiskey, mate. Looks like you've got your hands full."

Harry patted Michelle's hair and waved as Dean left. "Call me. We'll do a pub night soon." As the door closed behind his friend, Harry turned his attention to the one crying in his arms. "Shell? What's wrong?"

"I did something stupid." Michelle confessed. "Don't hate me?"

"What could you possibly have done to make me hate you?" Harry asked gently. 

"I slipped a note to that cute new barista at the coffee shop..." She said carefully. "I gave him my number..."

"Well, that's not so bad but why didn't you tell me that earlier when you brought my coffee?!" Harry felt his heart drop but the possibility existed that Malfoy wouldn't be interested for one reason or another. 

Michelle shook her head. "You don't understand. I gave him both our numbers..."

Harry mentally held his breath. "And he didn't call?"

"He did call, actually." Michelle whispered, her lashes stuck together with tears. "It wasn't until he called that I thought maybe I shouldn't have done it."

Harry took a deep breath and tried to slow the beating of his heart. "What did he say when he called? What made you cry?"

"I figured that I could handle it if he called one of us but..." She sniffled a little and reached for the nearby tissue box. "He called me to ask for your name!"

"So are you upset that he picked me or... no, wait..." Harry suppressed the laughter that was bubbling up. "You just gave him the numbers without our names?" 

Michelle nodded earnestly telling him what she'd written. "So he asked your name and I told him it was Harry and he hung up on me. That's when I panicked and came over to confess because I'd hate for us to stop talking just because of a boy!"

Harry hugged her tight. "He probably figured out that we know each other, that's all."

She blinked up at him.

"We went to school together in Scotland. It's a long story that I'm not going to get into but we didn't get along with each other." Harry told her with a sad smile.

"Maybe it's a different Harry he knows?" She suggested hopefully. 

Harry shook his head. "Afraid not. I knew it was him as soon I saw his hair."

Michelle giggled. "It is pretty impossible to forget."

"His father's hair is the same color." Harry told her with a smirk as his phone rang and they both looked over at it.

"Think its him?" Michelle asked in a low voice. 

"Never know until I answer..." Harry took a deep breath and reached for the phone after it rang a second time. "Hello?"

No answer came for a moment and then the dial tone sounded. 

Harry sighed sadly. "I think it was him but they hung up."

"He asked your name, Harry..." Michelle said softly. "It wasn't me he wanted...Maybe he'll call back."

"Maybe." Harry nodded numbly but only to make her feel better because he was absolutely certain it would take an act of God to get Malfoy to make that call. He changed the subject to their classwork and walked her out an hour later. 

On the other side of London, Draco was in shock and close to becoming hysterical. He'd called the girl and asked for names to go with the phone numbers. A strange feeling had come over him when Michelle said her friend's name was 'Harry', but he naively convinced himself that Harry was probably a common name in the muggle world and the chances of it being Harry Potter were astronomical. 

Then he'd called and heard that voice and he instantly knew that some inexplicable force of nature had decreed that the only Harry in his life would ever be Potter. He hung up quickly and laughed himself silly.

He thought over the day’s events as he pondered whether to call back or not. The girl's coy smile was cute but he hadn't felt that spark of attraction while interacting that morning. He was quite flattered to receive the note and had gotten a bit excited when Dean... 

Dean said he'd seen the girl around. That meant she - and perhaps Harry - were regular visitors at the coffee shop. Harry was friends with Dean who had looked at the note and said Draco should call what must've been a familiar number...Dean had known it was Harry Potter and hadn't told him. Feeling his face heat, Draco recalled what he'd said to Dean...what he'd unwittingly admitted. How would he face his boss upon his next shift?

On his way home, he'd allowed himself to get excited about the mysterious gay friend of this sweet girl who was trying to get him laid. Now he was annoyed with Dean and still excited but the guy was Harry Potter...would Harry want him? He'd been rejected by the man before and wasn't looking forward to another embarrassing incident. 

Draco had just decided to sleep on it and maybe call in the morning when a bright light bounded through the window and took shape. He'd seen the shining white stag before and waited breathlessly to hear what it would say.

 _"I'd like to tell you a story...please?"_ Harry asked gently through the patronus. There was a moment of silence and then the stag dispersed into a shimmering white cloud before disappearing altogether. 

Draco's hand shook as he dialed the phone. 

"Hello?" Harry's voice answered. 

"I'm off tomorrow." Draco told him quietly. 

"I'd suggest this nearby coffee shop I know but you work there." Harry chuckled softly. "Do you have any ideas?"

"I think the coffee shop is a good place, actually." Draco bit his lip. "I can reserve the breakroom for an hour or two and Dean would be there to either stop us killing each other or tell us to get a room...depending on how it works out."

Harry's laugh came easier this time. "Agreed. How about eleven? I'll tell you my story and if we're able to refrain from murder maybe I'll treat for lunch...Draco?"

"Alright...Harry." Draco's heart ached in a good way as he hung up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 will be up in a few days!


	2. Coffee On My Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next day...

**☕🧠Coffee On My Mind🧠** ☕

Draco smiled at the mirror and ran his fingers through his hair. Harry had met his mother yesterday and he was meeting the Weasley family today because he and Harry had been dating for just over a month. Harry would be here to get him soon. He still thought back to their first coffee date quite often. The memory was so vivid that he could almost be reliving it in a pensieve...

Oo0oO

He'd been nervous and thought that, if he got to the coffee shop well before the set time, he'd calm down by then but he ended up pacing the hallway outside the breakroom until Dean had arrived and pushed him into the room itself asking what had him so worked up. 

"I can't believe you knew." Draco accused his boss. "You knew and didn't tell me!"

"Knew what?" Dean asked, startled at such a response. 

"I called the numbers, Dean!" Draco shook his head and gripped his hair. "Michelle told me their names."

Dean's eyes widened. "Oh."

"She didn't get a chance to say his surname because I hung up when she said his first, but you should've told me it was him!" Draco lamented. "You're his friend! You had to know it was his number!"

Dean sighed. "I am his friend, Draco...but I'm your friend too."

"What in Merlin's name is that supposed to mean?" Draco stared at him incredulously. 

"It means that you deserve a chance to be happy as much as he does, Draco." Dean shrugged helplessly. "And until you told me, I had no way of knowing which number you were going to call."

"Oh God!" Draco cried out and hid his face. "I can't believe I let that out!"

"Let what out?" Harry asked, knocking gently on the open door. "Hey, Dean."

Dean whipped his head around to stare at Harry. 

"Did Draco not get to the part where we agreed to meet here?" Harry chuckled. 

Draco slid tiredly into a chair and sighed. "No I hadn't gotten to that part yet."

"Hi." Harry said softly as he approached the table and pulled out a chair. He sat down after the blonde answered almost shyly and took a deep breath only to be interrupted by his friend.

"So we were up to the part where I didn't tell him it was your number on the note." Dean said. He took the third seat at the table and glanced cautiously between the two. 

Harry's lips twitched into a smirk but he quickly controlled his amusement to comfort Draco that he didn't consider this a joke. "I thought you were up to the part where he told you something that wasn't meant to be told."

Draco blushed. "I don't advertise my sexuality, Harry. I'm out to my friends and family, but the public at large doesn't need to know until I find the person I want to be with."

Harry smiled. "So you told him which number you intended to call?"

"What I told him is that I'm bisexual." Draco's blush deepened. "I also confessed that I lean more towards men, but I was unsure about starting something with a muggle because of my probation and the statute."

Dean snort-laughed. "I, then, suggested that he give the anonymous bloke a chance before tossing the note...as he might be Draco's type."

"I see." Harry chewed his lip. This was getting more and more interesting. "So what you accidentally 'let out' is just what 'type' you prefer...?"

Draco's face drained of all color as he stood abruptly. "Didn't you come here to tell me a story?"

Harry sensed he was poking a nerve and where, once upon a time, he might have pressed the issue, this time he took the opposite approach. "I did." He looked over at Dean. "Maybe some coffee or tea?"

Draco looked longingly after his boss as the door closed behind him. 

"After the war...after the trials...I had to decide what to do with my life." Harry began noticing as he did so that Draco relaxed a little. "I had grown tired of dispelling dark magic and hunting dark wizards. So I decided that law enforcement was not the path for me."

Draco's shoulders relaxed a little more but he said nothing. 

"Ron and Hermione went to counseling and begged me to go as well." Harry paused to gather his thoughts. "After finding one that was willing to make a binding confidentiality oath, I talked through all my issues from my childhood to the war. Using a mixture of magic and psychology, he helped me get over the nightmares and even helped me work through the signs to realize that I'm gay."

Draco nodded. "I've been seeing a mind healer as part of my sentence. It helps."

Harry was relieved to hear that he wouldn't have to deal with the stigma of mental illness if they began dating. "I decided that I wanted to help others in that way. I want to be able to help my godson when he reaches the age of understanding why he grew up with his grandmother and myself caring for him instead of having parents."

Draco's eyes softened as he looked at the compassionate side of Harry making an appearance.

"Anyway..." Harry blushed and finished his explanation. "I go to university for psychology - where I met Michelle - and I found a reputable mind healing course through St. Mungo's so I'll be able to bridge the gap between the muggle world and the magical."

"You know, Harry, with that kind of training, you might want to think about applying to be one of Hogwarts' muggle-born contact agents." Dean suggested as he brought in a tray loaded with coffee, milk, and sugar.

"That role wouldn't be good for me, Dean. I had a horrible introduction to Hogwarts." He explained reminding his former housemate of the triggers inherent to such a position. 

"All the more reason, then." Dean smiled sadly at his old friend. "You'd know what to do or say to make the kids feel at ease. You'd be careful not to prejudice them toward or against any particular house..." 

Harry mused about it and finally, nodded. "It's something to think about."

"What are you thinking about, now?" Draco asked quietly. 

"You." Harry answered honestly. "For a while now I've been considering joining the dating scene but nobody has interested me enough to do more than fantasize...then I saw you yesterday..."

"Wait!" Draco straightened up in his chair. "I thought Michelle...?"

Harry sighed and confessed. "I was here too."

Draco's expression closed up. "Seeing me... made you leave?"

"Only because I didn't want you to think I was spying on you or stalking you!" Harry hurriedly explained. "I wanted to restart our acquaintance without tainting it with our Hogwarts rivalry."

The blond felt hope peek through the cracks of the walls he didn't know he'd erected. 

"If you want me to be honest, my first thought was that you looked well for everything you'd been through." Harry offered freely. 

"And your second?" Draco demanded quietly as he watched the other man's face. 

Harry felt his cheeks warm. "How fit you were ...erm...are looking."

Draco's trademark smirk curved his lips wickedly. The muggle gym membership was paying off. He took a deep breath and signaled with a look at his boss who took the hint and made excuses to leave but left the door cracked open. 

"Now that you've finished your story allow me to tell mine." Draco sat tall in his seat and began. "Your testimony saved me and my mother from Azkaban. Father died there within six months - killed by one of his Death Eater conspirators who considered us traitors to the cause due to our helping you. Mother had to check in occasionally with an agent from the wizengamut but I was officially under house arrest for a year and couldn't leave the grounds of the manor."

Harry nodded. "I was told about your dad. I sent my condolences."

"Yes. Mother told me." Draco gave a strange sort of chuckle. "You were sorry for our loss ...but I knew you weren't sorry he was dead."

"He did terrible things. I'm sorry you and your mom were made to feel sad but..." Harry trailed off.

Draco's nod of understanding stopped him. "Him being where he was saved me from another difficult set of circumstances, Harry. I was his heir. He had plans for me... my role whether I liked it or not was to marry and continue the Malfoy family legacy. The fact that I'm bisexual had him believing he would have my cooperation but I want love not alliances. I want passion not a business deal with the addition of sex. With Father in prison, I was in charge of my life. Mother tried to guide me to the options he would approve of until he died. Then...after the funeral ceremonies were over she sat me down and asked one simple question. What would make me happy?"

Harry blinked back tears. It was sad to realize that some people weren't able to make that kind of choice for themselves. 

"I told her honestly about my sexuality and my leanings." Draco smiled but his lips seemed to wobble as he did so. "I even told her how I felt about love being part of my eventual marriage. She seemed to know what I was going to say before I said it. A couple weeks later, she came to me with research she'd collected...things having to do with my family inheritances and certain family members in the history of my father's family who made similar decisions. She told me that in order to make informed decisions, I would need information and then she left me to it."

"That's wonderful!" Harry whispered. He could certainly admire a woman who had gone through the life she'd experienced blowing up around her and coming out of the rubble strong and supportive of her, now grown, son instead of perpetuating the old ways.

"So my plan is to learn about the world around me for a few years - muggle and magical. While I'm doing that, I want to date and find someone to share my life with..." Draco bit his lip and blushed. "Maybe even someone to love." 

"Have you considered who this someone might turn out to be?" Harry asked gently, reaching out a hand to hopefully hold Draco's. 

"Being bisexual, I'm fairly open but I do lean more towards a male because I find a certain part of our anatomy to be a more pleasant experience when natural versus artificial." The blond slowly began to move his hand closer to Harry's with a smirk. "I am a wizard and, having grown up in the magical world, I'd prefer to have a magical companion simply because I wouldn't be able to share some things with a muggle partner, but I enjoy so many aspects of muggle life that I'd want them to be comfortable in that world too."

"A muggle wouldn't understand our war in context either." Harry murmured in agreement. 

"That's true." Draco nodded and, as their fingertips touched, he glanced up into Harry's green eyes. "I'm so fair - in appearance. I've always felt that being fair was the epitome of good looks but so few people are as fair as my father and myself. Even mother's skin has a soft pinkness to it. Your slight tan is a soft contrast to my pale skin but the darkness of your hair is a striking one to my blond."

Harry had a strange feeling that the former Slytherin was trying to tell him something. 

"Eyes have always intrigued me, you know?" Draco smirked. "They don't make you a different person but the thoughts and feelings and experiences behind them... I think I'll have to give the random bloke a chance... He might be..."

It clicked. Harry grinned in relief. "Your type?"

"To be specific, he said he wanted a dark haired, green eyed male wizard who had a propensity for muggle life and a preference for giving rather than receiving in the bedroom." Dean peeked in through the open door. "Maybe you two can discuss that elsewhere so I can have my breakroom back?"

Harry laughed long and hard when he noticed Draco's expression. He stood and pulled the slender blond up to a standing position and opened his arms in a welcoming manner. "Shall we?"

Oo0oO

"Shall we?" Harry asked from behind the distracted blond, startling his boyfriend. 

"What?" Draco blinked at him. 

"We're supposed to be there soon. Are you ready?" Harry asked, stepping up close. 

Draco nodded and reached up to kiss Harry's cheek. "Yes. I was just thinking about things."

"Like what?" Harry's pleasant smile encouraged him to tell all his secrets. "What's on your mind?"

"Coffee." He said, softly. "Coffee is on my mind."

Harry looked down into Draco's silver grey eyes and knew what he meant as their lips met.

The end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, the note said...
> 
> Hi. My friend and I think you're cute! 
> 
> If you're gay, here's his number.
> 
> If you're not gay, here's mine!


End file.
